Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
2121

The only reporter in Annawan, Illinois is 12 years old.

Keith Davis started the Annawan News when he was nine, and that first effort has evolved into the Annawan Times, a weekly newspaper recognized by membership in the Illinois Press Association. (The IPA made him an honorary member out of appreciation for his efforts.) Annawan is a small town (population: 957), and Davis is responsible for covering all the local news not covered by the surrounding newspapers, updating the paper's website and sending issues to his three subscribers.

Tuesday

Fact N°
2122

Much of Delaware was once "New Sweden".

In the mid-17th century, a significant part of Delaware (as well as parts of surrounding states) was colonized by Sweden. The Swedish colonial effort was less vigorous than that of larger European powers, but New Sweden -- centered on present-day Wilmington -- existed for 50 years until the Dutch took the land by force. Despite the lasting imprint of Swedish culture on the area, most Swedes who immigrated to America in later years (particularly at the end of the 19th century) traveled past it to settle in the Midwest and West.

Wednesday

Fact N°
2135

A fourth of the world suffers from zinc deficiency.

Around two billion people -- including 12% of U.S. inhabitants -- are at risk for zinc deficiency, which significantly affects the body's ability to repair genetic damage. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found an increased risk of DNA damage among otherwise healthy men who only lacked dietary zinc, and in whom the damage disappeared once their zinc intake increased. A lack of zinc is also tied to prostate cancer. The naturally high-in-zinc prostate loses its zinc content when it becomes cancerous: increasing zinc in the prostate may help prevent prostate cancer.

Thursday

Fact N°
2136

Driving in the U.S. is the safest it has ever been.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's statistics from 2009 indicate that the number of traffic fatalities hit its lowest level since 1954 and, when accounting for the number of overall miles traveled, the lowest on record (33,963 fatalities total). The Department attributed the decline to safety campaigns and safer vehicles, but also conceded that part of the drop in accidents was simply due to the presence of fewer drivers on the road.

Friday

Fact N°
2137

Yawning is not contagious to babies.

Contagious yawning is linked to empathy, or at least to mimicry. More empathetic people are more likely to yawn reflexively when seeing someone else yawn, and even some animals, like dogs, are prone to contagious yawning. Babies, however, are not. Children generally only develop contagious yawning around the age of five, when social decision-making and the capacity for empathy become more developed.

Saturday

Fact N°
2138

It is possible to lose 20 pounds in 24 hours.

Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Workweek and the 4-Hour Body, has made a career out of experimenting with exercise, supplements and the limits of the human body. The former kickboxer writes that he has lost over 20 pounds in 24 hours on more than a dozen occasions, with the most dramatic example being a loss of 33 pounds in 20 hours. Ferriss employed rapid dehydration (which, performed improperly, can be fatal) to drop from 185 to 152 pounds by following a process he describes openly and in detail on his website.

Sunday

Fact N°
2139

A town in Vermont nearly managed to cover itself under a giant dome.

Winooski, Vermont, a town of 7,000 inhabitants, rose to the challenge posed by the energy crisis of the 1970s with a very innovative solution: covering the town with a clear dome that conserved heat and prevented the accumulation of snow in the winter months. Community officials determined that a one-square-mile dome would reduce heating costs by 90%. The idea remained popular, winning support from public figures like Buckminster Fuller and attention from the national media, but eventually HUD turned down the city's request for funding and the idea's feasibility decreased.